Her mother is dead. Her
father has lost his job. And thanks to an experimental procedure, Liz
is now able to ‘download’ the contents of every brain around her
with a simple touch. Forced to hide from both the federal government
and a darkling group of morally deficient scientists known as the
Coalition determined to exploit her abilities, she moves with her
father to the bucolic coal town of Pound, West Virginia.

But the hunt for Liz and
her abilities hasn’t ended, and her hopes for peace are shattered
when she inadvertently downloads the enigmatic Carey Drake, whose
unusual good looks and charm conceal a secret as shocking as her own.
Stunned by the knowledge that she has found someone else who has
extraordinary abilities, Liz finds herself drawn to Carey,
discovering a deep attraction, and dares to hope for the first time
she might find love.

But when an agent of the
Coalition begins stalking her, Liz must find a way to work with the
government agency she most mistrusts as she strives to build a
longed-for normal life and take down the agent who has tracked her
down. Caught up in a struggle to save herself and those she loves,
the girl who sees all is blind to true danger until it is too late.

Short Excerpt:

I was out on the main road and about
twenty minutes into my run when I heard the sound of a motor gunning
and the beep of a horn. I slowed my pace and turned around to see
Preston’s truck chugging along about two hundred yards behind me.
His head was out of the window and he was screaming at me; I couldn’t
understand what he was saying, but I felt pretty confident that it
wasn’t complimentary.

I came to a stop, wondering if I should
do something. I wasn’t really concerned; it wasn’t as though he
would run me over or anything, but the blind hatred on his face made
me a little nervous. Finally, I decided to ignore him and let him get
his fill of throwing abuse my way and then drive on past. Picking up
the pace again, I resolutely faced forward, pretending that the
continued screeching behind me was a trick of the wind.

Suddenly the engine gave an almighty
roar and I heard the unwelcome sound of squealing tires. With only a
second to register that I had vastly underestimated Preston’s anger
and mental instability, I swirled around in time to see the grille of
the truck just a few feet from my face. I made to jump out of the
way, but all my knowledge and stolen tricks didn’t make me fly, or
move faster, or be any less breakable than any other human being. I
knew in that moment how useless my ability really was. In the face of
the giant metal monster brimming with torque, my mind was of no
matter, it just screamed out with the desire to live, to keep going.

There was a blow like a train hitting
me, but strangely there was no pain, and I was moving faster than I
could have imagined away from the truck and into the field next to
the road. I was sure that the truck had hit me and I was just flying
through the air to my death, by some fortunate stroke lucky enough to
be spared the pain of impact. In another instant the movement had
stopped and I realized I was being held in a pair of strong arms
against a rock-hard chest.

Carey looked down at me, his eyes
frantic. “Are you alright? He didn’t hit you, did he?”

“N-no,” I stuttered. Having
downloaded Carey I was aware of his incredible speed, but there’s
something very different about knowing something theoretically and
experiencing it firsthand.

He put me down gently in the grass and
I just sat there, too dumbfounded to speak. Even as he anxiously
surveyed me for damage, we heard the rending scream of out of control
tires and the heavy metal sound of Preston’s truck crashing into
something.

“I’ll be right back,” Carey said
and then I blinked and he was gone.

Guest Post:

What
if we were all telepathic...

When
I sat down to write At
First Touch, I
wasn’t thinking about developing a character who could read minds.
I was creating someone who had seen the worst of people and was still
fighting. As the story developed, it became clear that Liz’s
ability to ‘download’ the minds of those around her wasn’t the
main problem; it was how people in power perceived her and sought to
use her for their own purposes.

But
it got me thinking. There are so many books, movies, etc. about
people who can read minds or other variations on the theme. What is
it about knowing the thoughts of everyone around us that is so
fascinating?

When
I was a lowly undergraduate, I majored in Psychology. I’m one of
those people who can be standing in line at a grocery store and have
the person behind me tap my shoulder and tell me their life story,
and the thought of pursuing that odd knack as a career was tempting
for a while. It certainly gave me lots of inspiration as a writer;
but I think the real draw was that elusive idea that learning about
the brain would make it easier to read people, understand the way
they think, why they behave the way they do. In short, I wanted to be
a mind-reader.

Everyone
is a bit of a mind-reader. It’s how we know to stop asking the boss
for a raise when he gets a certain tone in his voice, why we
recognize when our significant other is about to end things, or how
we know the time is right to ask our parents for that raise in
allowance. We base our reactions on a lifetime of memories and
precedence, and most of the time we’re right.

So
why do we dream about more?

I
recently read an article about developments in ‘synthetic
telepathy,’ which is intended to create a connection between our
thoughts and technology. So eventually, this area of research hopes
to produce the ability to send a text or email with a thought, to
give commands on a video game telepathically, along with other, more
practical implementations. Can you imagine if covert military
operatives were able to communicate brain to brain instead of relying
on whispers or signals? Or individuals suffering from strokes, ALS,
or other debilitating conditions that prevent speech being able to
hold conversations in their heads? The implications are staggering.

Of
course, I wasn’t thinking about any of this when I created Liz; I
just wanted to see what it would be like if she were burdened by
knowing everything about anyone she came in contact with, and how
that would change her as a person. And I’ve come to the conclusion
that even if mind-reading technology comes along in the near future,
I want to stick with the old-fashioned kind and just try to gauge the
mood of whoever I’m talking to by using facial expressions and tone
of voice.

After
what I’ve put poor Liz through, I don’t know how much of a ‘gift’
mind-reading really is.

About
the Author:

Mattie Dunman is a
lifelong resident of "Wild & Wonderful" West Virginia,
and has dreamed of being a writer since she first held a pen in hand.

Mattie has pursued several
useless degrees to support this dream, and presently enjoys teaching
(or tormenting, as the case may be) college students the dying art of
public speaking. She spends most of her free time writing, but also
indulges in reading and traveling.

She is the proud owner of
an adorably insane American Eskimo named Finn, and a tyrant cat named
Bella, who take up more of her attention than they probably should.

While the idea of this story isn't
unique, a girl with the ability to read minds, the idea and actual
storyline is.

A girl that not only reads minds, but
downloads all their life history, thoughts memories, desires, you
name it, she gets it. And not only does she have this ability by
simply touching someone, she doesn't want it and refuses to use it.

I have to say, I really liked Liz. She
was a pretty terrific character. She was strong and stood up for what
was right and she was even a little kick butt. She had some truly
horrific things happen to her because of her ability and she didn't
let them rule her. She didn't let those things change who she was.
She still managed to be caring and kind and loving.

Carey was a good match for her. Not
only was he not what he seemed to be too, but he cared for Liz and
helped her and was there for her when it really mattered. They were
both a little lost and lonely until they meet each other.

V.J., Liz's dad and Nurse Nora were all
great secondary characters that helped make this book the fun action
packed read it was.

I love that we got all the details
about Liz, her life before her abilities, how she got them and about
her life on the run. Nothing really was left out and all my questions
were answered. It seems like lately I can't say that about all the
books I read so I really appreciated not being left in the dark for
once and having everything out there in the open.

If you are looking for something a
little bit different and not your typical mind reading action packed
story, then this is a read that you really should give a try to. It
was very well written and the ending wasn't a cliffhanger yet it did
leave it open for a sequel, something that I am hoping there will be.

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About Me

I am a full time mom and avid reader. When I am not playing dress up or chasing down lost toys and wrestling with the never ending pile of laundry, I read. Actually, I read whenever I get the chance. I love many different genres and would have a hard time choosing just one favorite book. And yes I really am obsessed with books, in fact I might be a book hoarder. Thankfully I have a Kindle and no one is the wiser to my vastly growing collection of books.